Cyprus Mail 9 June 2021 - by Jean Christou
The European Commission on Wednesday said it had decided to take further steps in the infringement procedures against Cyprus and Malta regarding their investor citizenship schemes.
The Commission said it considers that by establishing and operating investor citizenship schemes that offer citizenship in exchange for pre-determined payments and investments, the two member states fail to fulfil their obligations under the principle of sincere cooperation and the definition of citizenship of the Union as laid down in the Treaties.
“While Cyprus and Malta remain responsible to decide who may become Cypriot and Maltese, the Court of Justice has made it clear on multiple occasions that rules on the acquisition of the nationality of a member state must do so having “due regard to EU law,” the Commission said in a statement.
It said it had launched infringement procedures against Cyprus and Malta by sending letters of formal notice.
“While Cyprus has repealed its scheme and stopped receiving new applications on November 1, 2020, it continues processing pending applications,” the Commission said.
“Hence, today the Commission decided to take the next step in the procedure against Cyprus by issuing a reasoned opinion. The Commission considers that the concerns set out in the letter of formal notice were not addressed by Cyprus,” it added.
Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, Didier Reynders, said: “By offering citizenship in exchange for pre-determined payments and investments, Cyprus fails to fulfil its obligations in the Treaties. Becoming the national of a Member State means becoming an EU citizen too. This link must not be forgotten. Cyprus does not accept new applications, but it is still processing pending ones. To this day, our concerns have not been addressed by Cypriot authorities and further action is therefore required.”
The Commission also decided to take further steps against Malta. While the previous investor citizenship scheme is no longer in force, it said, Malta established a new scheme at the end of 2020.
Both Member States have now two months to take the necessary measures to address the Commission’s concerns.
“In case of Cyprus, if the reply is not satisfactory, the Commission may bring the matter before the Court of Justice,” it concluded.
A probe in Cyprus into the citizenship scheme found that 53 per cent of the 6,779 citizenships granted were unlawful and said politicians and institutions had political responsibilities while certain applicants and service providers may be held criminally culpable.
The probe covered the period between 2007, when the scheme was introduced, and August 2020. Though the scheme was axed in November last year the government said it would continue processing applications already received.
